The Locker Read Free Page B

runny—oozing down around me in a suffocating flood of darkness.
    I opened my mouth and heard the screams.
    But not my screams …
    Screams of pain … horror … agony …
    Screams coming from my locker.

3

    S ilence rushed in.
    For an eternity I floated there in my strange, quiet darkness, every sense numb beyond feeling.
    â€œ Marlee … what’s wrong …”
    Reality slammed into me with a terrible jolt.
    Lights overhead, rows of old lockers, peeling walls, scuffed floorboards— everything hit me at once, and I felt myself falling backward into a pair of arms that were all too real.
    â€œ Marlee! Marlee, are you okay? ”
    It was Noreen’s voice, I recognized it now, but she was yelling, not whispering, and it wasn’t her arms holding me up and literally keeping me from collapsing onto the floor.
    â€œAre you all right?” Tyler demanded. His face was about two inches away from my own, and I could see Noreen right behind him, peering anxiously around his shoulder.
    â€œI …” My eyes grew wide as I looked at him. “What happened?”
    â€œI thought you were going to faint!” Noreen’s voice rose several octaves. “You looked so strange, and I saw Tyler coming out of class, and I yelled for him to help!”
    â€œI’d be insulted,” Tyler said in a stage whisper, “if someone told me I looked strange.”
    I gazed into his eyes and slowly put one hand to my forehead. Things were starting to focus now, crystal clear— too clear—so sharp and distinct that I wanted to block out each larger-than-life detail. I could see the little threads unraveling from one of Noreen’s shoe-laces, and the tiny mole hidden behind her right ear; I could see the crooked finger on Tyler’s left hand that might have been broken once, and the faded scar on his wrist beneath the cuff of his shirt.
    â€œShould we get her to the nurse?” Noreen looked at Tyler, but I put my hand on her arm.
    â€œNo, I’m okay.”
    â€œYou sure?”
    â€œNo,” Tyler said, squinting at me. “I think she’s going to cry.”
    â€œI’m not going to cry,” I insisted, even though I’d never felt more like crying. “Just give me a minute.”
    â€œCan you stand up?” Noreen leaned over me, but when I didn’t answer right away, she cupped her hands around her mouth. “I said, can you—”
    â€œHey, Noreen, why don’t you talk a little louder so everyone in the building will come out here to see what’s wrong?” Tyler’s look was mildly reproachful, but Noreen didn’t seem to notice.
    â€œReally,” I said shakily, “I’m fine.”
    â€œLet’s get her outside,” Tyler said. “In the fresh air.”
    The next thing I knew, they were both guiding me out the door, and I was shaking so bad that I stumbled and fell right against Tyler’s chest.
    â€œHere you go, sit here,” Tyler said. He lowered me carefully onto one of the concrete steps, and then he stood back and began to whistle softly, as if this sort of thing happened all the time and music always made it better.
    â€œI’m so embarrassed,” I mumbled. No — it didn’t really happen! “Ican’t believe I did this.” No — I won’t let it happen! And I put my hands to my temples and pressed hard—harder— no, no, it’s not supposed to happen, I promised myself it would never happen again —
    â€œMarlee?” Noreen sat down beside me, and I felt her arm slip gently around my shoulders. And then suddenly things began to settle again … normally … everything in its right place and proper perspective. I looked up at Tyler, and he stopped whistling.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Noreen reassured me, giving me a hug, but her voice was quivering and her hands felt cold. “It’s hard being the new kid in a new